Burt Hochberg

(1933-2006)United States – Inducted 2009

A chess expert and writer, Burt Hochberg remains the longest-serving editor of Chess Life, holding the position from December 1966 to October 1979. He was the acquisitions editor at RHM Publishing in 1972, when Bobby Fischer’s World Championship win spurred a renewed interest in chess in the United States. Through the rest of the decade, Hochberg led the company to release numerous notable titles by world-class players, including Svetozar Gligori?’s The French Defence, Pal Benko’s The Benko Gambit, and How to Open a Chess Game, penned by seven grandmasters. Later, he worked for Random House’s McKay Chess Library as a consultant and editor. His expertise went beyond the game of chess, however, to other strategy games and puzzles, and from 1982 to 2000 he served as editor of Games magazine after his time at Chess Life.

Hochberg is remembered as a tireless chess promoter who, throughout his career, devoted time and energy to encouraging new authors and young editors in the field. In addition to overseeing the publication of numerous chess books, he also wrote several of his own, including Winning with Chess Psychology with Pal Benko and the official Mensa puzzle book Award-Winning Chess Problems. Hochberg’s contributions to the field of chess writing earned him induction into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 2009.